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Creative Writing Scholarships and Prizes

(Application deadline for these awards is March 1, 2019, unless otherwise indicated.)

Prose

Charlotte Paul Reese Fiction Award

Undergraduate, $2,400 prize OPEN THROUGH APPLICATION OR THROUGH NOMINATION BY FACULTY. Deadline: APRIL 1, 2019. Currently enrolled Sophomore and Junior English Majors only may apply. Submit 2-3 short stories or a novel excerpt (up to 30 pages/9,000 words). If you are excerpting from a longer work, please provide a synopsis of the whole.

Recent winners

2018: Eli D’Alboro

2017: Madeline Seaman

2016: Olivia Nivison

2015: no winner

2014: Cali Rose Kopczick (winner), Laura Jane Kostad (runner up)

2013: Heather Marie Smith (winner), Samuel Pizelo (runner up)

2012: Zoe Barker-Aderem (winner), Kristen Steenbeeke (runner up)

2011: Shelby Handler (winner), Courtney Holmes (runner up)

2010: Eric Beu (winner), Scott Forsythe (runner up)

2009: Lisa Fu (winner), Tamsin McPherson (runner up)

2008: Kyle Davis

2007: Kelsey McKendry (first place), Chloe Valencia (second place)

006: Alexanne Madison

Eugene Van Buren Prize for Fiction

Undergraduate/Graduate $6,000 to be divided among 1 or 2 winners

OPEN THROUGH NOMINATION BY FACULTY ONLYAny registered graduate or undergraduate student at the University of Washington is eligible. The award is based on the quality of their novel or collection of several short stories, presented anonymously. Submit 2-3 short stories or a novel excerpt (up to 30 pages/9,000 words). If you are excerpting from a longer work, please provide a synopsis of the whole.

David Guterson Award

Graduate, fiction $1500 OPEN to MFA prose writers completing their degrees only. Please notify Judy LeRoux in Creative Writing if you'd like to be considered for this award. Finalists will be asked to submit a copy of their MFA Creative Project. Deadline: May 1, 2019.

Poetry

Joan Grayston Poetry Prize

One prize for an Undergraduate & one prize for a Graduate student $1,500 eachAny graduate or undergraduate student may apply. Students may submit as many poems as they like, up to a total of 100 lines.

Arthur Oberg Award for Poetry

Undergraduate $2,000 Any undergraduate student who has taken a beginning or intermediate poetry writing class this year may apply. Students may submit as many poems as they like, with a ceiling of 150 lines.

Recent winners

2018: Kathryn Priest

2017: Christian Orr

2016: Olivia Nivison and Devin James (co-winners)

2015: John "Jack" William Chelgren

2014: Tanya Joy Friedland

2013: Joshua Berg

2012: Julie Feng and Roberli>Reeves (co-winners)

2011: Olga Vilkotskaya

2010: Chelsie Doherty and Nicole Guenther (co-winners)

2009: Brittany Dennison and Joseph Darda (co-winners)

2008: Lucy Burnett

2007: Samuel Asher McPhee and Erin Thompson (co-winners)

2006: Vi Le

Academy of American Poets Prize

Undergraduate/Graduate $100Any graduate or undergraduate student may apply. This prize is awarded for the best poem or group of poems. Submit up to three poems anonymously.

Prose or Poetry

Grace Milliman Pollock Scholarship for Creative Writing

poetry & prose, $11,000 Any graduate or undergraduate student who is preparing for a career in creative writing or in the teaching of creative writing, who is currently enrolled at the University of Washington, and who will be enrolled in the following academic year may apply. Must have completed at least two years of college-level work. the award is based on demonstrated talent in creative writing, academic standing, and, between applicants of equal rank in the foregoing criteria, financial need.

Recent winners

2018: Areej Quraishi — Finalists: Naima Kazmi & Marianne Manzler

2017: Meagan Arthur

2016: Erin McCoy

2015: Rachel S. Edelman (winner), Michelle Hope Anderson (runner up)

2014: Joshua M. Potter

2013: Jennifer Murphy

2012: Luke Laubhan

2011: Cecilia Kiely

2010: Lisa Ritscher

2009: Matt Nienow

2008: Daisy Wilson-Morrow

2007: Hannah Sanghee Park

2006: Carrie Purcell

Edith K Draham Scholarship

Undergraduate $6,000 Full-time Sophomore and Junior English Majors only may apply. The award is based on financial need and the submission of a sample of creative writing. Priority will be given to students in good academic standing and students MUST be eligible for financial aid.

Recent winners

2018: Kevin Teeter

2017: Hannah Parker

2016: Cameron Eldridge

2015: Charles Lee Wakenshaw

2014: Sarah Chante Gronostalski

2013: Samuel Pizelo

2012: Colin Gorenstein

2011: Tessa Whitehead

2010: Cosmo Smith

2009: Dana Minugh

2008: Michelle Hope Anderson

2007: Alexanne Madison

2006: Melina Coogan

Bentley MFA Award in Creative Writing

One award in poetry and one in prose, $1,500 eachAny MFA student completing their first year in the program may apply for this scholarship. One award will be given for prose and one will be given for poetry.

Recent winners

2018:Prose – William Patrick Burr, Poetry – Jordyn Murray

2017: Garrett Evans

2016: Gabrielle Bates Stahlman

2015: Gabrielle Bates Stahlman

2014: Catherine C. Bresner

2013: Emily Haines

2012: Elizabeth Colen

2011: Kate Lebo

2010: Sarah Kathryn Moore

2009: Scott Provence and Sarah Kathryn Moore (co-winners)

2008: Chelsea Jennings

2007: Christine Walsh

2006: Margaret Rabb

How to Apply

Please submit a separate packet for each award. Submissions should include 2 collated and clipped copies (4 copies if applying for the Milliman or the Draham) of the following materials:

1) Cover Sheet (please email: cwriting@uw.edu for a copy of the cover sheet)

2) Current unofficial UW transcript

3) Biographical statement, including a brief description of financial need. Not more than 250 words.

4) Creative Writing Sample-Note that some awards have specific requirements. If no requirements are listed in the description above, please follow these guidelines: 2-3 short stories or works of creative nonfiction or a novel excerpt (up to 30 pages/9,000 words). If you are excerpting from a longer work, please provide a synopsis of the whole.

OR

5-10 poems.

AUTHOR'S NAME SHOULD NOT APPEAR ON THE CREATIVE WRITING SAMPLE FOR ANY AWARD.